SPHS Sea Tigers Swim | Team Eager to Return

As a Sea Tiger board member and parent to two swimmers, Coll Metcalfe says the organization has been working hard to develop a plan to get the team back into the water. He brought his concerns to the South Pasadena City Council last week

PHOTO: Provided by South Pasadena Sea Tigers | SouthPasadenan.com News | SPHS has have been working hard to develop a plan to get the Sea Tiger team back in the water

They just want to go swimming, a Sea Tigers’ board member told the South Pasadena City Council last week.

Since the coronavirus has been on the scene, the organization that develops young swimmers in the city has been inoperative, and Coll Metcalfe says he and others have been working hard to develop a plan to get the team back in the water. The Sea Tigers training facility, the aquatics center at South Pasadena High, has been closed since mid-march when schools in the local school district closed down on account of COVID-19.

PHOTO: Provided by South Pasadena Sea Tigers | SouthPasadenan.com News | SPHS Sea Tiger swimming

Along with serving on the board, Metcalfe is the parent of two Sea Tigers’ swimmers anxious to jump into the SPHS pool.

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Metcalfe’s message to the council that he’d like to see the facility reopened was read aloud by the deputy city clerk during the July 1 virtual council meeting. Since it was a non-agenda item, councilmembers were unable to comment.

“Our efforts so far, haven’t been fruitful,” he wrote in his letter to the council. “As pools around the state and region re-open, we are asking that you consider our proposal for re-opening and that the district make it a priority to develop a plan for a phased re-opening of athletics in the district.”

PHOTO: Provided by South Pasadena Sea Tigers | SouthPasadenan.com News | SPHS Sea Tiger swimming

The success of the Sea Tigers is trumpeted on its website, which notes the nonprofit organization inspires and enables swimmers to reach their highest potential in swimming and in life. “Our mission is to elevate and maintain a championship caliber team through high quality training, champion of character development and community outreach,”  it reads. “It is not only about winning in the pool, but about winning in life.”

In his message, Metcalf stressed, “Our club has been a fixture in this community for decades. Recent events now threaten its existence.”

He explained the pool was funded through public bonds “40 some-odd years ago to serve as a community resource. As such, we are asking the (school) district to consider our proposal to let our socially distanced team jump back into those 400,000 gallons of chlorinated water. Doing so would save this community resource…the Sea Tigers.”

PHOTO: Provided by South Pasadena Sea Tigers | SouthPasadenan.com News | SPHS Sea Tiger swimming